


So Long To All My Friends

by AaronIeroWay



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Going to Hell, I'm Sorry, post break up mcr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 20:51:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11494512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AaronIeroWay/pseuds/AaronIeroWay
Summary: Gerard gathers the band long after the break up to play a song.





	So Long To All My Friends

**Author's Note:**

> first time actually writing anything that isn't a song so please bear with me. This was inspired by an edited version of 'the light behind your eyes' by mcr and in the edited version it sounds like it was being played in an empty arena during a storm so this is my take on turning that concept into a short story.   
> You may perceive this anyway you please and I am sorry for any emotional trauma I may be the cause of   
> LETS GO

"of all places.. and at all times for a storm. fucking rain shit it's cold.." a small figure pulled his jacket tighter around himself as he hurried into the dingy looking place. broken windows and spray painted walls. the building clearly had seen better days but it had a roof and could shelter him from the rain.   
thunder rumbled in the dark skies above and lightning flashed across the sky. was it even safe to be here in this weather? who cared. what waited for him made him forget about the weather all together.   
inside three others waited. three other people he hadn't seen in a very long time all together in one room. it made him feel young again. but sad all at once. they made him remember his early years of life.   
but he wasn't there to feel that way. what was he there for anyway?   
he was asked, with strict instructions to meet the others there and come alone.   
"Mikeyway. long time buddy!" the small figure embraced a taller man, an old friend and a big part of his past before he was enveloped in another embrace immediately after he released the other by another pair of strong arms, the fluff of hair brushing the side of his face could be none other than Ray meaning the arms also belonged to the other guitarist. The smaller man feeling nothing but nostalgia and something else pulling at the strings somewhere inside him but he couldn't place it.   
time and place completely forgotten while the shorter was sandwiched between two people who both played major parts in him being where he was. both literally and metaphorically.   
"nice to see you too Frankie." a voice the small man would know anywhere (even if it had changed over the years) and literally the reason they had all shown up in the first place.   
"think I forgot about you Gee? not in a million years." the small figure finally managed to get out of the guitar/bassist sandwich and threw himself into the open arms of the one and only, Gerard way. the singer had always been a little more special to him. his best friend if you will. these guys were his brothers for a good portion of his life.   
"don't get me wrong man, I'm happy to see you all but Gerard? why are we here?" the former singer managed to untangle the small guitar player from himself before looking to the other curly haired man with a small half smile.   
"right sorry Ray. I know you all were busy so I'll get down to it.. this place sucks I'll admit that and probably not ideal for what I have planned but it's far enough away from anywhere that no one really bothers anymore." Gerard had always been eccentric and one for theatrics so if he made them all meet in the dead of night in this place it was something clearly important to the former singer. it would have been ominous to anyone else but they knew him. they knew with just one look at the former singer that it was something important to him.   
"wait here." was all the former singer said before he wandered off somewhere else into the run down abandoned building. the place clearly dead to the world as not even homeless people called this place theirs. it was empty and dark and the ceiling leaked with the rain pouring down just outside. you could smell the age on the building. but it was built to stand for a long time as any old building was. it would probably be there until it was torn down.   
the former singer finally returned to the three questioning men and his former bandmates. the items he was pulling on an old creaky trolley making them even further confused but intrigued at the same time.   
instrument cases. a few of them. and amplifiers. what was Gerard up to?   
"gee?" the tall and lanky former bassist finally piped up with an eyebrow raised in questioning at his older brother who only seemed to smile at him like all the answers were obvious. "what's all this?"   
the former singer only grinned at him before turning to the trolley again and pulling each case off with care and slight difficulty. the questions still going unanswered as he pushed the trolley towards the nearest wall, the only things left on the trolley being the amps as the former singer didn't even bother to try lift them again.   
"Gerard? are you going to tell us what's going on? kinda in the dark here .. literally too." the short statured guitarist spoke up again while watching the former singer set things up. "Gee? Gerard? Gerard Arthur Way?!" the former singer only turned to lift a finger to his mouth in a 'shhh' motion and held out his hand in a 'wait here' gesture before wandering off again. suddenly the room and lights came to life. this place still had power running to it? either that or the former singer was doing some very illegal things. wouldn't be the first time or likely the last.   
the former singer came back into the now lit up room with a small smile on his face. but that smile was hiding something. anyone who spent enough time with the man would know that.   
"do you guys remember the song 'the light behind your eyes?'" of course they did. it was the one song pretty different from the rest.   
the smallest guitar player looked in between the two Way brothers who seemed to be having a silent conversation only they understood through shared looks. the youngest Way only going to the case he guessed a bass guitar was in without question and digging out the instrument with great care and a set of cables before hooking up the instrument to one of the amplifiers the former singer had pushed against the wall, the younger Way handling the bass guitar with the care someone would give a newborn child.   
"you just want to play that one?" how was Mikey so calm about this? he was just standing there fiddling with the various knobs on the amplifier to try and set it to his liking before turning his attention to the instrument held closely to himself and making sure it was tuned properly.   
".. fuck it." Frank decided he might as well. its been ages since he played with his brothers and he'd be damned straight to hell if he passed it up now. he followed suit with the bassist and soon after him followed the other guitarist while the former singer had briefly stepped out to get some more equipment.   
the former front man going through great lengths to perform just one song as he came back pushing a wheeled crate. the others now too preoccupied with making sure they had their instruments in proper tune and to notice the former singer opening the crate and setting up his own things. a mic stand, mic, and his own speaker.   
would anyone notice the music coming from the run-down building? probably. would anyone care? probably not.  
"you guys all set up?" the former singer looked over his shoulder at the others who seemed to be doing their final touches on everything but gave their thumbs up with small smiles directed at their former front man.   
not one thinking about the lyrics of the song he had asked them to play with him.  
  
they started playing together seamlessly as if they never stopped. the singer watching them with the same mask of a smile before he began.

  
_"So long to all my friends "_  
  
The lyrics still not being noticed for what they signified as thunder rumbled outside, the natural noise only adding to the raw emotion in the singer's voice.  
  
 _"Every one of them met tragic ends "_  
  
Mikey was always the first to understand his brother’s odd ways of telling him something. no matter how far out there Gerard's eccentric ways of telling him were.  
  
 _"With every passing day "_  
  
A missed bass note could be noticed but he fell back into rhythm. the bassist’s eyes however no longer on his instrument but slowly looking in between his older brother and his adopted brothers.  
  
 _"I’d be lying if I didn’t say "_  
  
How did he not notice before? the signs... the song choice.  
  
 _"That I miss them all tonight "_  
  
Gerard brought them here for a reason and that reason was becoming clear now.  
  
 _"And if they only knew what I would say "_  
  
Mikey felt like a child again. he felt small. he felt the feeling he knew when something important was being ripped from him.  
  
 _"If I could be with you tonight_  
 _I would sing you to sleep "_  
  
the bassist was on autopilot now. his hands playing the song but his mind and heart racing as he tore his gaze from his older brother to the others.  
  
 _"Never let them take the light behind your eyes "_  
  
They hadn't understood it yet.  
  
 _"One day I’ll lose this fight "_  
  
He wanted to stop. But he knew his brother.   
a falter in the rhythm guitar.  
  
 _"As we fade in the dark "_  
  
Frank's wide eyes on the singer now and then to Mikey who only shook his head and urged him to keep playing.  
  
 _"Just remember you will always burn as bright "_  
  
Frank understood now too. he understood the reason Gerard made this seem so important.  
  
 _"Be strong and hold my hand_  
 _Time—it comes for us, you’ll understand "_  
  
Frank was mentally slapping himself. how had he not got it? he knew Gerard. he should have known.  
  
 _"We’ll say goodbye today "_  
  
Mikey and frank looked to Ray who almost dropped his guitar as soon as Gerard sang those words.  
  
 _"And I'm sorry how it ends this way "_  
  
this time, Gerard faltered. a small crack in his voice.  
  
 _"If you promise not to cry "_  
  
They kept playing. this however, wasn't their performance.

  
_"Then I’ll tell you just what I would say "_

  
It was Gerard's.

  
_"If I could be with you tonight_   
_I would sing you to sleep "_

  
They were his audience this time.

  
_"Never let them take the light behind your eyes "_

  
And this was his most important show.

  
_"I’ll fail and lose this fight "_

  
Gerard was pouring his everything into this and they would be damned if they let this be anything but perfect.

  
_"Never fade in the dark "_

  
They wouldn't stop watching. Gerard sang with his eyes closed but his heart open and laid out bare.

  
_"Just remember you will always burn as bright "_  
  
Mikey was the first to feel wetness stream down his cheeks.  
  
 _"The light behind your eyes_  
 _The light behind your "_  
  
Frank wasn't far behind the bassist.  
  
 _"Sometimes we must grow stronger and_  
 _You can be stronger when I'm gone "_  
  
Then Ray.

  
_"When I’m here, no longer_   
_You must be stronger and "_

  
Mikey's finger's slipped and missed a note with the tears that seemed to be accumulating on his bass.

  
_"If I could be with you tonight_   
_I would sing you to sleep "_

  
Frank couldn't look anywhere with blurry eyes but at the ground beneath his feet.

  
_"Never let them take the light behind your eyes "_

  
Ray could only watch the singer as he played and Gerard put on the performance of his life.

  
_"I failed and lost this fight "_

  
Mikey felt numb.

  
_"Never fade in the dark "_

  
if it weren't for the heavy instrument in his hands and his brothers voice keeping him tethered to reality he would have floated away.

  
_"Just remember you will always burn as bright "_

  
He didn't want to accept this anymore. he didn't want this song to end.

  
_"The light behind your eyes "_

  
He wanted Gerard to look up at him. he wanted his brother to tell him this wasn't what it meant.

  
_"The light behind your eyes."_

  
Everything seemed underwater. muffled. the outside world dead to him now and the only thing providing air to his lungs was listening to Gerard.

  
_"The light behind your eyes."_

  
But once the song stopped. would he?

  
_"The light behind your eyes."_

  
Frank seemed to have joined Mikey in the underwater version of the world. and the end of the song was their air being stolen from their lungs.

  
_"The light behind your eyes."_

  
Gerard finally looked up at the three. his eyes rimmed with red. his cheeks stained with tears. a tired smile on his face as he sang.

  
_"The light behind your eyes .."_

  
the song was coming to a close.

  
_"The light behind your eyes."_

  
And Mikey was the first to drown and drop his bass. his face in his hands and his shoulders trembling with suppressed sobs.

  
_"the light behind your eyes."_

  
They couldn't accept it.

  
_"The light behind your eyes."_

  
They wouldn't ...

_"The light behind your eyes...."_

  
But it was true ... this was Gerard's goodbye.

  
Mikey was first to throw himself at his older brother and cling to him as if he was a life raft in the middle of the ocean.   
Frank didn't care about his instrument anymore and dropped it to follow suit with Ray close behind.

  
No words were said.

 

  
None needed to be.

**Author's Note:**

> I am sorry.


End file.
